What does it mean that Jesus is the Friend of sinners?

Beloved in Christ, Jesus was called friend of sinners by the scribes and Pharisees in a derogatory manner. Jesus said: The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'-- Luke 7; 34

The religious leaders considered themselves as righteous, they saw themselves to be in a right standing with God, whiles they dissociated themselves from the tax collectors, prostitutes, outcasts and more. They saw them to be sinners, but those were the very people Jesus Christ came for. 

Jesus defined his mission in the synagogue by reading from the scroll of Isaiah, a Messianic prophecy about the anticipated Messiah and he applied it to himself: And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written; "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. "And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing"-- Luke 4; 16- 21

When you study the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will realize he was often in the midst of the common people, he often preached the gospel to them, and healed all those who were oppressed by the devil with sicknesses and diseases, for God was with him. 

Jesus was indeed friend of sinners, but he was not friends with them to partake of their sinful and wanton lifestyle, no, but to seek and to save them by his grace and for his glory. Imagine, Jesus had the same mindset as the religious leaders of his day, do you know what would have been our spiritual and eternal condition? Eternal separation from God (Death).

Though Jesus was called friend of sinners in a demeaning way, but to us it carries a different meaning altogether. To us it means that, He came to seek us, though we sought not after him, and saved us even though we are unworthy of his salvation. A classical example was the conversion of Zacchaeus, a wicked and corrupt tax collector. Jesus invited himself as a guest in his house, and through interlocution with him, he heard the gospel and that day was the day of his salvation, he was saved by grace, for Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, see (Luke 19; 1-10). Like Zacchaeus, we are saved by pure grace, for it is written: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast-- Ephesians 2; 8-9

Today, we are saved and made beneficiaries of the eternal benefits of the finished work of Christ, because Jesus came as the friend of sinners, and laid down his precious life for his friends (John 15; 13).

Peradventure, if you are reading this short article and you have no personal relationship with God, then I beseech you to reconcile with him, through faith in his only begotten Son Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners. Jesus is ever ready to save you, the only thing you need to do is to call upon him from the depth of your heart and you shall be saved. It doesn't matter your past, he will save you and wipe away the sins of your entire life, for salvation can only be found in him and none else (Romans 10; 9- 13). God bless you 

A thought to ponder 🤔 

It doesn't matter your past, he will save you and wipe away the sins of your entire life, for salvation can only be found in him and none else

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